Cinedigm Entertainment Group and New Video have partnered up to distribute Kirby Dick's "The Invisible War" -- this year's winner of the U.S. Documentary Audience Award at Sundance -- for North America. The film will hit select theaters this summer. This marks the first buy under the new partnership between Cinedigm and New Video.

Cinedigm Entertainment Group and New Video have partnered up to distribute Kirby Dick's "The Invisible War" -- this year's winner of the U.S. Documentary Audience Award at Sundance -- for North America. The film will hit select theaters this summer. This marks the first buy under the new partnership between Cinedigm and New Video.

Full release below:

CINEDIGM AND NEW VIDEO ACQUIRE NORTH AMERICAN DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS TO THE INVISIBLE WAR, 2012 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL “AUDIENCE AWARD” WINNER

Cinedigm To Release Documentary In Theatres; New Video To Release Across

Digital, On-Demand and DVD

(Los Angeles, CA, March 5, 2012) – Cinedigm Entertainment Group, a division of Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. (NASDAQ: CIDM) and entertainment distributor New Video have jointly acquired North American distribution rights to The Invisible War,winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s “U.S. Documentary Audience Award.” Theatrical distribution rollout will commence this summer and continue throughout the fall. The Invisible War marksthe first acquisition under the recently announced partnership between Cinedigm and New Video to acquire and distribute independent films theatrically in North America and across on-demand and digital platforms and DVD/Blu-ray.

An emotionally powerful investigativedocumentary, The Invisible War reveals the profound personal and social consequences of the rape epidemic in the U.S. military. Directed by Oscar® and Emmy® Award-nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Twist of Faith) and produced by Emmy® Award-nominated Amy Ziering (Outrage,Derrida), The Invisible Warisa groundbreaking documentary that explores alarming facts about America’s shameful secret: today, a female soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The number of assaults in the last decade alone is believed to be in the hundreds of thousands (according to the “Fiscal Year 2010 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military” issued by the Department of Defense).

“GivenThe Invisible War’s amazing receptionto date, we are thrilled and excited that Cinedigm and New Video will bring the film to the widest possible audience,”commented Mr. Dick and Ms. Ziering.

The Invisible War is a moving indictment of the systemic cover-up of military sex crimes as well as a chronicle of the women’s struggles to rebuild their lives while seeking justice. The Invisible War features hard-hitting interviews with high-ranking military officials and members of Congress that reveal the perfect storm of conditions that exist for rape in the military; its long-hidden history and ongoing cover-up, and what can be done to bring about much-needed change.

“We are honored that our first New Video/Cinedigm acquisition is The Invisible War,” said Chris McGurk, Chairman and CEO of Cinedigm. “The film is incredibly powerful and deserves – in fact demands – to be seen by as many people as possible. We very much look forward to working with Kirby, Amy and their team to share this important film with audiences across the nation.”

“Kirby is a fearless and intrepid filmmaker and The Invisible War is sure to ignite a national firestorm,” said Susan Margolin, Co-President of New Video. “We are thrilled to launch our partnership with Cinedigm by bringing this astonishing story to audiences across the country.”

The filmmakers were represented in the negotiation by Orly Ravid of The Film Collaborative and distribution advisor Jonathan Dana.

"In a highly partisan political season it's refreshing to be working with a political story that is completely and profoundly bipartisan,” added Ms. Ravid. “The Invisible War has engendered overwhelmingly passionate response from women and men, military and civilians, as well as politicians onboth sides of the aisle. We are thrilled to have such a formidable distribution duo at the helm of the release alongside a fantastic ensemble of partners.”

Ro*Co Films is handling educational distribution and international sales for the picture; Film Sprout is handling Non-Theatrical distribution and The Film Collaborative is handling worldwide festival distribution. Independent Lens is the broadcast partner and helped finance the film.

Cinedigm is a leader in transforming movie theaters into digital and networked entertainment centers and has released close to 200 independent films and alternative content events over the last few years, with past releases ranging up to 1,000 screens based on the content and audience footprint. New Video is the largest aggregator of independent digital content worldwide, with Amazon, Apple’s iTunes store, Hulu, Netflix and Walmart’s Vudu service as key partners.